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Several explosions rocked central Kiev on Monday morning, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko has confirmed, amid reports of a new wave of drone strikes one week after Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine’s critical energy and military infrastructure.
“An explosion in the Shevchenko district – in the center of the capital,” Klitschko wrote on his Telegram channel at around 7am Monday morning, before reporting another blast in the same area several minutes later. A fire broke out in a non-residential building, and several residential buildings were damaged, he later added.
Witnesses reportedly heard the sound of kamikaze drones in the air, according to Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the interior minister, who said that they targeted critical infrastructure in the area of the central railway station in Kiev.
Several videos circulating on social media claim to show the drones in the skies of Kiev, as well as one of the impact sites.
Russian drones attacking targets in Kiev. A series of explosions are being reported. Air defence seems… so-so pic.twitter.com/tRQV8pdhlZ
— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) October 17, 2022
The mayor later posted a photo of what he said were parts of a drone that was destroyed. One fragment featured the word ‘Geran-2’, the name of a kamikaze drone used by Russian forces.
According to some reports, the Geran-2 is a localized version of the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone. Neither Moscow nor Tehran have confirmed the shipment of UAVs to Russia. Iran has said in the past that it is neutral with regards to the conflict.
Russian strikes were reported in other parts of the country as well. Valentin Reznichenko, the governor of the eastern Dnepropetrovsk Region, said that several houses were damaged, and a missile hit an unspecified energy infrastructure site, causing a fire. He added that three missiles were intercepted and destroyed mid-air.
According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces Southern Command, three drones struck industrial sites and a pharmaceutical warehouse in the city of Nikolaev.
Dmitry Zhivitsky, the governor of the northern Sumy Region, said several people were injured after strikes on “critical infrastructure.”
The reported strikes come one week after Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones that targeted Ukrainian military facilities and infrastructure across the country over two days. The attack came after Moscow accused Kiev of orchestrating a deadly explosion on the strategic Crimean Bridge.